The finish line is in sight.
The LeBron-a-thon is going to end -- one way or another -- on Thursday night. LeBron James will announce his career plans in a one-hour special on ESPN.
For those who don't follow the NBA, this is not earth-shattering news. For fans in cities like Cleveland, Miami, Chicago and New York, it constitutes must-see TV.
I don't particularly care where LeBron makes his millions. I guess it's a good story if he stays in Cleveland, which is close to his hometown of Akron and where he elevated the Cavaliers to upper-tier franchise status. (They'll be devastated if he leaves.)
On the other hand, King James has a better chance to win a title if he leaves. And, if he chooses to play somewhere other than Chicago, it might help the Bucks' prospects in their division.
I don't really care, but I find the whole thing fascinating -- especially the media angle. Last night on their bottom-of-the-screen crawl, ESPN reported that one of its NBA reporters, Chris Broussard, had confirmed "through independent sources" that James would announce his decision on a prime time special on the network.
Really?
That's like ESPN breaking a story that one of its fired-coaches-turned-studio-analysts has punched another ticket for a ride on the coaching carousel.
For several weeks, ESPN has fanned the flames of this story by slavishly reporting each nugget of news and non-news. It got to the point where people wondered if the NBA -- and ESPN broadcast partner -- was moving past baseball and threatening the NFL for the top spot on the popularity charts.
Now, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader" is going to get the payoff in the form of a one-hour live special.
The cynic in me wonders if this was the plan all along. As we enter the final 36 hours of this circus, I also wonder how hard the ESPN reporters will work to unearth the "scoop" about LeBron's intentions.
After all, a scoop now -- or tomorrow -- might steal attention (not to mention ratings) from the one-hour TV special.
I think I smell an ombudsman column in the making.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
